Department of Pathology and International Institutes of Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Research Unit of Intelligence Classification of Tumor Pathology and Precision Therapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU042), Hangzhou 310058, China.
Department of Colorectal Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
Cell Rep. 2023 Sep 26;42(9):113110. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113110. Epub 2023 Sep 8.
The crosstalk between ferroptosis and cancer metastasis remains unclear. Here, we identify AMER1 as a key regulator of ferroptosis. AMER1 loss causes resistance to ferroptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Interestingly, AMER1-deficient CRC cells preferentially form distant metastases, while AMER1-naive CRC cells mainly invade lymph nodes. Moreover, the ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 effectively promotes hematogenous transfer of AMER1-naive cells. Mechanistically, AMER1 binds to SLC7A11 and ferritin light chain (FTL) and recruits β-TrCP1/2, which degrade SLC7A11 and FTL by ubiquitination. Therefore, AMER1 deficiency increases cellular cystine levels but decreases the pool of labile free iron, thereby enhancing resistance to ferroptosis in CRC cells. Thus, AMER1 deficiency increases the survival of CRC cells in the blood under conditions of high oxidative stress and then promotes hematogenous metastasis of CRC. In conclusion, AMER1 mediates the crosstalk between ferroptosis and cancer metastasis, which provides a window of opportunity for treating metastatic colorectal cancer patients with AMER1 mutations.
铁死亡与癌症转移之间的串扰仍不清楚。在这里,我们鉴定出 AMER1 是铁死亡的关键调节因子。AMER1 的缺失导致结直肠癌细胞(CRC)对铁死亡产生抗性。有趣的是,缺乏 AMER1 的 CRC 细胞优先形成远处转移,而 AMER1 幼稚的 CRC 细胞主要侵袭淋巴结。此外,铁死亡抑制剂 liproxstatin-1 可有效促进 AMER1 幼稚细胞的血源性转移。在机制上,AMER1 与 SLC7A11 和铁蛋白轻链(FTL)结合,并募集β-TrCP1/2,通过泛素化降解 SLC7A11 和 FTL。因此,AMER1 的缺失会增加细胞胱氨酸水平,但降低不稳定游离铁的池,从而增强 CRC 细胞对铁死亡的抗性。因此,AMER1 的缺失增加了 CRC 细胞在高氧化应激条件下血液中的存活能力,进而促进 CRC 的血源性转移。总之,AMER1 介导了铁死亡与癌症转移之间的串扰,为治疗携带 AMER1 突变的转移性结直肠癌患者提供了机会。